Clock-case.



No. 684,575. Patented Oct. l5, l90l. A. M. LANE.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

ALMERON M. LANE, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

CLOCK-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 684,575, dated October 15, 1901.

Application filed March 2, 1901.

T0 (tZZ who/11, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALMERON M. LANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mattings and Dials for Clock-Cases, of which the following is a specifieation.

My invention relates to improvements in mattings and dials for clock-cases; and the objects of my improvement are economy in construction and efiiciency of the article.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of the clock-case body, together with the glass and matting, and a plan view of the clock-case back, the movement-frame, and the dial supported on the said frame. Fig. 2 is a detached .rear elevation of the dial. Fig. 3 is a detached rear elevation of the matting. Fig. 4 is a side elevation or edge view of the said matting. Fig. 5 is an enlarged rear elevation of a portion of the said matting. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a portion of the front part of the clockcase, and Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a portion of my matting and its glass with a moditied form of clock-case.

A designates the sides or body of my clockcase, the same being illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6 as having a separately-formed glass-ret aining ring 8 and shoulder 9, the body of the said ring 8 being cylindrical and extended inside of the case-body A at its front and permanently secured thereto in any ordinary manner--as, for example, by indentations 10 from the inside, as shown in Fig. 0. In this connection I may say that it is common to form the glass-holding shoulder integral with the case-body, as shown at 8, Fig. 7, for the case-body A", and my matting is applicable to either form of case. It is also common to form a ring substantially like the ring 8 with a glass-holding shoulder at the front edge of the short cylindrical portion of the said ring, the same being hinged or otherwise secured in place, so as to form the sash of a clockcase, and my invention is equally applicable to said sash, which is so well known as to require no illustration nor special escription. My matting 11 is mainly of an or nary form.

It is struck up from a disk of metal and the central portion removed, so as to leave it in ting.

Serial No. 49.562. (No model.)

the ordinary form of a beveled ring with a flange 12 at its edge. I make L-shaped cuts in the said flange and bend back the metal therefrom to form the rearwardly-projecting lugs 13, the said lugs being bent on nearly radial lines and so as to slant outwardly a little beyond the edge of the flange 12, as shown, whereby the diameter of the circle described by the series of lugs at their rear or outer ends is somewhat in excess of the diameter of the flange 12. The diameter of thcflange and that of the cylindrical portion into which it is placed are so proportioned to each other that the flange will easily enter and substantially fill the said cylindrical portion. The usual glass 14 is inserted in the sash, ring, or clock-case bodyin the rear of the holdingshoulder, and the matting is then crowded or forced into the cylindrical portion adjacent to the said shoulder until the glass is held tightly between the said shoulder and mat- In thus being forced into place the lugs by contact with the ring are bent inwardly a little to bring them under tension,-so that they bear with all the resiliency of the metal against the inner wall of the short cylindrical portion into which they are forced and firmly hold the matting in place by friction. It should be noted that while forcing the matting into place has a tendency to bend the lugs toward the center of the matting, so that the said matting is easily pushed into place, the reverse is true when an attempt is made to withdraw the matting, and rearward pressure on the glass only tends to bind the lugs more tightly against the surrounding cylindrical portion within which they are placed. Heretofore ithas been customary to discard the metal cut from the center of the matting as so much scrap; but by a novel construction of the dial I am enabled to utilize this heretofore waste center. As in most dials now in use, my dial consists of a metal back and a front face or veneer of paper or other suitable material. It dill'ers from the com mon dial in that I form the metal back 15 of a smaller diameter than that of its face 16. My combined dial and matting also differs from those in common use in that I make the face 16 of a larger diameter than the opening 17 in the center of the matting, while the metal back 15 is of the same diameter as the Too and matting are held in proper relations to said opening 17, and, further, I form these backs of the identical pieces of metal that are cut from the center of the mattings.

All clocks that employ a dial and a matting have means of some kind for holding the matting concentrically over the dial, and in the same sense means of some kind for this purpose is essential to my invention. The particular means therefor which I have selected forillustration is as follows: In the metal back 15 I cut out four legs 18 at right angles thereto, andI secure the dial to the front movement-plate 19 by means of the said legs. The movement-plates 19 and 20 are connected by posts 21 to the clock-case back 22, which is received in and secured to the sides or body A of the case, all as in any known or ordinary clock, whereby the dial each other through the movement-frame and the case-body. The particular kind of means for thus holding the dial and matting in proper relations to each other is not essential to my invention. By my improvements I effeet a great saving of metal by making the dial-back smaller than its face and small enough so that the metal cut from the center of the matting is large enough for the metal back. The said back properly supports the face at all points that are liable to ever receive any pressure in the ordinary use of the clock. My improved matting is cheaply consaid matting against the glass Within a surrounding cylindrical membersubstantially as described.

2. A clock-dial consisting of a metal back and afront face secured thereto, the said face being of a larger diameter than the said back and projecting beyond the edges thereof substantially as described.

3. The combination of the dial-matting with a clock-dial consisting of a metal back and a front face secured thereto, the said face being of a larger diameter than the said back, and the said back being of substantially'the same diameter as the diameter of the said matting, whereby the said back may be cut out from the said matting, substantially as described.

ALMERON M. LANE.

\Vitnesses:

JAMES SHEPARD, JOSEPH M. IIANCE. 

